The original Georgia and Alabama Railroad was based in Rome, GA, incorporated in 1853, and started initial rail construction in 1857. In August 1866, the G&A officially consolidated with the Dalton and Jacksonville Railroad and the

Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company was incorporated under act of Alabama on March 4, 1848.Interstate Commerce Commission. ''Southern Ry. Co.'', Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, November 6, 1931, p. 213. Wash ...

Company with the intent to create a consolidated rail system from Selma, AL to Dalton, GA. The consolidated corporation was to do business under the name of the latter, but it officially took the name Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Company in December of that same year. Still, in some cases, business continued under the name of Georgia and Alabama Railroad. For instance, in May 1868, a contract was executed to the Georgia and Alabama Railroad, leasing 100 African American

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s in the state of Georgia to work for the railroad company without pay. The Georgia and Alabama Railroad is not to be confused with the Georgia and Alabama Railway, which was a different entity entirely, formed in 1895 and based in Savannah. However, due to the similarity in their names, the G&A ''Railway'' was often referred to as the G&A Railroad until it became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway ca. 1900. In 1989, the next iteration of the Georgia and Alabama Railroad was formed as a

shortline railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

operating between Smithville, Georgia and White Oak, Alabama, . RailTex consolidated its holdings in the area into the Georgia Southwestern in 1995, and the Georgia & Alabama ceased to operate under that name. The rail system, however, is still in use by the Georgia Southwestern Railroad.

History

The Southwestern Railroad originally constructed the line west out of Smithville towards the Alabama state line, completing the railroad in 1860. The Southwestern was leased to the

Central of Georgia The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...

in 1869 and completely integrated into the system in 1954. The remainder of the line into Alabama was constructed by the Vicksburg & Brunswick from Eufaula to Clayton, Alabama, and became part of the Central of Georgia. An extension to Ozark was later built, however, it was abandoned in 1977. Eventually the Central of Georgia was acquired by the Southern, and later became part of

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. The line was cut back to White Oak February 28, 1986. The Georgia & Alabama railroad began operation on June 1, 1989 under the Thoroughbred Shortline Program between Smithville and White Oak. Freight included peanuts, aggregates, pulpwood, and cement, which generated approximately 3,300 annual carloads for the line in 1995. Interchange was made with Norfolk Southern at Smithville,

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

at Dawson until 1990, and fellow RailTex subsidiary Georgia Southwestern at

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

. After 1990, the railroad interchanged with the Georgia Great Southern at Dawson. The Georgia & Alabama no longer existed in name after the division was merged into the Georgia Southwestern division of Railtex in 1995.

References

{{US Class III - Alabama Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Railway companies disestablished in 1995 Railway companies established in 1989